A person who contracted COVID-19 coronavirus at a longterm care facility in Sitka was one of two Alaskans diagnosed with the illness through in the 24-hour period that ended at midnight Saturday.
The other person is in the Fairbanks / North Pole area.
Also, an inmate at the Goose Creek Correctional Center, making it almost certain that there will be similar cases. Inmates are being tested as epidemiologists determine who they may have been in close contact with, and the inmate who contracted the virus has been in isolation for the past week.
There have been a total of 341 cases of the coronavirus in Alaska since the outbreak of the contagion, with 217 of them recovered.
In the past several days, no more hospitalizations or deaths were reported. A total of 36 people have been hospitalized and 9 Alaskans died from the illness, with two of those dying out of state.
